Farshchi Chairs Americas Day at Conference for Value Creation

When industry professionals want to take the next step in their career and focus on a bigger picture, the Conference for Value Creation can help.

Maryland Smith’s Nima Farshchi, who chaired the first day of the three-day conference this year, says the event offers a robust discussion of the definition of value creation in business, showcases various cultures and perspectives, and explores how to utilize research to create positive change in industries.

This year, the event was virtual and hosted by the University of South Florida.

Farshchi chaired “The Day for the Americas,” with sessions that covered value creation according to experts in North, Central, and South America. Included in the day were presentations from Rutgers University, Ontario’s University of Guelph, Northeastern University, and CAME in Peru, and a keynote speaker from Emory University.

The Northeastern session focused on creating “less bad and more good” through environmental, social and governance (ESG). The Rutgers session focused on the supply chain in the post-pandemic era. CAME Peru dived deep into the chocolate industry, with conversations about the changes in relationships with suppliers over time. And the University of Guelph session offered a talk about diversity, equity and inclusion and how they affect the bottom line.

“A lot of thought organizations have different perspectives on value creation, but this conference is the only one that offers a vast variety of definitions from many different cultures and continents on what it means to create value,” said Farshchi, program director at Maryland Smith’s Center for Social Value Creation. “This is a chance to internalize these global mindsets from thought leaders.”

For attendees, the conference offers a chance to take a broad view of today's business world and forge a career path that creates value. It also offers a chance to earn a Creating Value Certificate, from the Creating Value Alliance.

“They get a holistic approach on how to tackle our Grand Challenges and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Farshchi. The sessions are all free to watch on the website, and the certificate comes at a nominal cost.

UMD is the only U.S. university in the Creating Value Alliance, said Farshchi, but the certificate is a collaboration of many different universities.